It's about time


What we are witnessing can also be seen as a demand to finally have a conversation we were all supposed to have back in 2008. There was a moment, after the near-collapse of the world's financial architecture, when anything seemed possible. - Guardian

Bring back the troops!
Stop the occupations!
Close military bases across the world!
Why is the US still stationed in Germany?
The free market does not protect the worker.
We need unions!
Universal Health Care for all!
No one in their right mind 
can believe these protests are about Debit Card fees.
 Banks were given bail out money with no strings!
Executives received obscene and immoral bonuses,
while home owners were left to hang and dry.

They have taken homes
through an illegal foreclosure process,
despite not having the original mortgage.

We come to you at a time when corporations -- 
which place profit over people,
self-interest over justice, 
and oppression over equality -- 
run our governments.

Voila, a hotchpotch of slogans
taken off the net, mainly facebook,
not my original thoughts,
but all resonating in my heart.
Weather permitting I will take to the street tomorrow.

Occupy Wall Street

Eloquent Manifesto
dramatically read by Keith Olbermann
in text rather then video format, for now:

The statement issued from Zuccotti Park by the general assembly at Occupy Wall Street.

    "As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies. As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members. That our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors. That a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people, and the Earth, and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power.

    We come to you at a time when corporations -- which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality -- run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here as is our right to let these facts be known.

    They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.

    They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give executives exorbitant bonuses.

    They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in workplaces based on age, the color of one's skin, sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation.

    They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.

    They have profited off the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless animals, and actively hide these practices.

    They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.

    They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is, itself, a human right.

    They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut worker's health care and pay.

    They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people with none of the culpability or responsibility.

    They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams, but look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.

    They have sold our privacy as a commodity.

    They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.

    They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products, endangering lives in pursuit of profit.

    They determine economic policy despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.

    They have donated large sums of money to politicians, who are responsible for regulating them.

    They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.

    They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people's lives, or provide relief in order to protect investments that havealready turned a substantial profit.

    They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.

    They purposefully kept people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.

    They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners, even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.

    They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.

    They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.

    They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts.

    To the people of the world,

    We, the New York City general assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power.

    Exercise your right to peaceably assemble, occupy public space, create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.


    To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.

    Join us and make your voices heard."

Support Occupy Santa Fe
Occupy Santa Fe will hold a rally Saturday, October 8th,
at Bank of America, Saint Francis and Paseo de Peralta
10 am to 5 pm.

Steve Jobs - October 5, 2011

Apple changed my life,
thanks to the creative genius of Steve Jobs.
What a giant of a man! 
We mourn his premature passing.

"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. Stay hungry. Stay foolish."

I remember my commutes across the bay in the late nineties, with billboards along 580 doing for once for me what they were designed to do - invoke a desire for the product they advertised. Those iBooks in their sleek design and their cute colors (purple my favorite, but the blue one was on sale refurbished) looked like something I might actually want to lay my eyes on, have near me and learn how to use. 

"I read a study that measured the efficiency of locomotion for various species on the planet. The condor used the least energy to move a kilometer. Humans came in with a rather unimpressive showing about a third of the way down the list....That didn't look so good, but then someone at Scientific American had the insight to test the efficiency of lomotion for a man on a bicycle and a man on a bicycle blew the condor away.

That's what a computer is to me: the computer is the most remarkable tool that we've ever come up with. It's the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds."

I took to the Apple iBook like a Mermaid takes to water. Not a geek by any means I was able to learn, mostly by myself and would not be here without an Apple laptop, I am currently still only on my second iBook, now in it's 7th year of use.

"It's really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them." 

This quote of Steve's sure rings true in my ears and supports my experience in my approach to bodywork. Clients would show up for one, usually superficial reason, relaxation, and leave often with an epiphany. They had no idea, about the state of their bodies, their true needs and wants! Steve Jobs differed in that he knew how to advertise his products. He knew how to create a desire for products we had no idea yet we wanted, much less needed. He also had inventions for sale that could be looked at, held, inspected, played and experimented with. Very different from my selling an experience that comes and then goes and gets forgotten, or at best stored as a cherished memory in some deep dark recesses of the brain.

"[Y]ou can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something -- your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."

Jobs had grown Apple into the world’s most valuable technology company through his scrupulous attention to detail and his ability to, in his own words, marry technology with liberal arts and humanities to “make our hearts sing.” Huffington Post

"... great things in business are never done by one person, they're done by a team of people."

Many blame Apple for manufacturing their products outside the US and depriving Americans of badly needed jobs. Laws may need changing in this respect, but to blame a company for choosing cheaper labor in areas of the world with lower living standards is excessively idealistic and unreasonable. What may constitute worker exploitation needs to be adjusted to each culture, but world wide basic standards ought to apply. Nobody wants to exploit child labor, yet some children are rather happy to be able to work. I started a paying job, illegally then in Switzerland at the age of 14, and loved it! Maybe a hefty import tax would solve the problem?

Steve Jobs died of complications of Pancreatic Cancer, diagnosed in 2004. He worked as CEO of Apple until 6 weeks prior to his passing. "Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being," Apple

President Barack Obama said Jobs was "among the greatest of American innovators -- brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it. "

 RIP Steve Jobs!

In A Quiet Celebratory Mood

It must be canine heaven to race free on trails and across meadows, up on the mountain along a stream in National Forrest, where the rules of society no longer apply, where there is freedom.
  
The green grass seems to transform both of my pups in to cows, chomping away happily. I do not believe as a remedy for their sick stomachs. They simply seem to like the taste of  juicy green grass, not so easy to come by in our high desert climate where lawns really have no  sane reason for existence.  I am reminded of my surprise in discovering the sweetness of Wheat Grass, an alkalizer to our too often acidic blood stream.

It is Sumo's 6th birthday, but a trip up the mountain was sadly not in the cards. Instead we are in a quiet, celebratory mood. Sumo was overjoyed with our walk out the door by 7 am (earlier then usual.)  They got to explore the nearby park off lead for a change, even though it is illegal and could result in a  hefty fine. Of course Sumo had to immediately check out all the places we usually avoid, such as the kid's playground, where the Squirrels like to hide and the ditch, too close to  the train tracks for my comfort.

A treat even before and while breakfast was being prepared was nothing to sneeze at either. Freshly boiled chicken with sweet potatoes certainly pleased our Isabella-girl, but I am not so sure about our birthday-boy. I had to hand feed him and the kitty the first few bites. Maybe too much of the good and healthy stuff like added Brewer's Yeast, Flaxseeds and Braggs? 

Getting a chance to accompany me on errands, running along side my bike was a definite winner. We have been doing less of that, because I do not like to leave our Isabella-girl behind as she should not stress her joints and has not been running since early Spring. Sumo is such a good boy though, attentive and so obedient and all too eager to exert himself.

Gizzards for dinner were a hit, no doubt. I am not a fan of raw, red meat, but I do understand that some is good for dogs and cats and Sumo looks a bit too skinny to me of late. Maybe all those 12 mile runs with Eric (see below.) Love does go through the stomach, does it not? I am no fan of human-like celebrations for our pets, but believe a bit of extra love, attention and morsels of their liking will go a long way.

It's raining cats and dogs since mid-afternoon, so instead of our evening walk it will be some more cuddling. We need the rain and will not complain. Sumo is great company, very easy to live with, sweet, attentive, non-demanding, very expressive, sometimes impish, mischievous and outright funny.

Tattered Too

Tattered,
worn not just around the edges,
frayed,
mature and past her prime,
yet still holding on
and looking good
in the right kinda light.

Misadventure

Ten, yes, 10 dogs
of varied kinds and sizes,
off-lead,
up on a mountain trail,
ran frantically
in all different directions,
but miraculously 
made it back
safe, sound and tired,
but happy.

One human
with camera,
but no photos
-
very unhappy.
 

Unsolicited Advice #8 - Bluff

to those still green behind their ears:


Beware! 

The elder you might be talking with
may be bluffing!

SHe may not have the foggiest notion

about who you are! 

Alzheimer's, Dementia, Senior Moments,

they are all too real.

As things are looking now

you too may be affected, eventually.

So, stay kind,

cultivate patience,

fall back on laughter,

but keep it real.


Tattered around the edges
no longer fresh and young,
but not yet ready to fall off
- the face of the earth.
About how I feel.

Aglow

Maturity

One white haired, middle aged, middle class woman
gave the finger to another.
What has the world come to?

But then there is thankfully Elizabeth Warren

Butterfly on Butterfly Bush

Autumnal Equinox





"Although the word equinox is often understood to mean "equal [day and] night," this is not strictly true. For most locations on earth, there are two distinct identifiable days per year when the length of day and night are closest to being equal; those days are referred to as the "equiluxes" to distinguish them from the equinoxes. Equinoxes are points in time, but equiluxes are days. By convention, equiluxes are the days where sunrise and sunset are closest to being exactly 12 hours apart." Wikipedia

Autumnal Equinox, September 23. 2011, 9:04 GMT
 

Jeremy Irons - Death Penalty



'Those Without The Capital Get The Punishment'

The American Nightmare

Today, after yesterday's execution of Troy Davis, after in fact two more applications of so called justice, of the irreversible, unreasonable, unconscionable, barbaric practice of vengeful injustice, in only one day, I have more reasons yet to hang my head in shame and seriously question the wisdom of my choice of having become an American citizen. The American Dream has become The American Nightmare! Maybe it always was and I just had not noticed?

shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame

Here I want to mention only a few of what could make up a very long list of misgivings, not necessarily in order of importance or severity of impact. For me the death penalty is an abhorrent practice that, do you realize, would preclude the US from joining the EU. The US would not qualify, shocking and shameful! The resort to wars in response to terrorism, despite world wide protests, despite Saddam's lack of culpability, despite Afghan's history of resistance - shameful! This acceptance of violence as a way of resolving conflict seen on all levels, political and personal - shameful! This living in an old, outdated paradigm of competition rather then cooperation, a cowboy mentality (personified in Bush) where the stronger win and the weaker perish, where the US has to demonstrate it's exceptionalism while in the pursuit of it's imperialistic expansive endeavors, shameful! America sets itself above international law when it accepts torture and rejects international treaties, such as the Kyoto one, and rejects science, but ridicules efforts to deal with Global Warming, shameful!

shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame 

Sadly even our big hope, President Obama, the Peace Nobel Price Winner,  with his proclamation for change, continued a path of violence when he ordered the killing, rather then the apprehending of Osama Bin Laden. I can not believe that those highly trained and skilled Navy Seals would not have been able to apprehend this old, unarmed guy, so as to bring him to true legal justice, maybe in an international court of law, in the proper way of dealing with war criminals as established after World War II in the Nuerenberg Trials. But wars are not waged on a bunch of extremists, wars a waged against other countries, we never have been at a war! We just needed a pretext to assert ourselves and protect those precious resources that are not ours but that we need so badly, oil, shameful!


shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame


to be continued ...

Weeping


Abolish The Death Penalty Already!

Amnesty International reports:
46 prisoners – 45 men and 1 woman – were put to death in the USA only this year, as of today.
By this evening 1 more male got executed in Texas!
This brought to 1,234 the total number of executions carried out since the US Supreme Court lifted a moratorium on the death penalty in 1976.

In a matter of minutes, this number will go up if the institutional killing of Troy Davis will progress as scheduled.

Texas executed 24 people during 2010 and in June carried out its 200th execution under the current governor, Rick Perry, who claimed to never have lost any sleep over any executions.

9 were released from death rows on grounds of innocence during 2010, bringing to more than 130 the number of such cases since 1976.

In March 2010, New Mexico became the USA’s 15th abolitionist state under then Governor Richardson - D, who found it in his heart to reverse his position during his last term of service. In 2011 Governor Martinez - R made attempts to reverse this hard won achievement.

hard-hearted, wrong-headed

The USA needs to grow up and realize that revenge is not an acceptable response to crime and it is most certainly not a deterrent. Institutional killing is wrong! A wild west mentality has no place in a psychologically sophisticated modern society. The blatant disregard for life is deeply troubling and shows up throughout American culture, we have to look no further then to how our breakfast eggs are produced.

Troy Davis, male and black never had a fighting chance. Of 9 eyewitnesses, 7 recanted! One juror did testify that if he had been given all the info he would never have found Troy Davis guilty, the jury would have been hung! The weapon was never found. NO DNA. The doubts of his guilt are so severe, even staunch supporters of the death penalty agree that this man should not be executed. I really wish for those that upheld this verdict to have to stand trial and take responsibility themselves for their action or rather inaction, if ever proof of innocence be produced. Would judges and juries be so quick to condemn if they knew they would be held culpable for errors? Death has no room for errors!

I will never understand what makes supposed Christians that are under a tenet of thou shalt not kill amenable to killing off criminals, even those with questionable guilt or comprehension capacity? For that matter I do not understand what makes supposed Christians advance righteously in to foreign territory to wage war in supposed self defense? As a liberal I can only suppose a lack of education  of mind and heart.

Troy Davis will not be killed in my name, I protest! 

SUPREME COURT DELAYED EXECUTION!

 'PERVASIVE, PERSISTENT DOUBTS OF GUILT'
FORMER FBI CHIEF

Supreme Court Refused To Block Execution! 10:20 pm 


9.21.2011 23:08 PM

HOMICIDE OF TROY DAVIS


Not In My Name Pledge - Amnesty International


atrocious, barbaric, immoral, psychologically immature, uncivilized, wrong

Open Up

Open up to receive the light!

My American Dream?

33 years ago, September 16th, 1978 I set foot on American soil for the very first time, in the early morning hours, burdened only with one special, made for me shoulder bag packed with two changes of clothes, Miso (Japanese soy paste) chopsticks and a Chinese bound diary with pen and color pencils. 

It was on a quest for self-actualization that had brought me to the United States. I was determined to pursue the creative impulse full time. I hoped to immerse myself and to marinate in those juices. I sought a conducive environment, fertile grounds. I was up for adventure. Nah, I was desperate.  

Desperate to escape what seemed a deadening, stifling working class Swiss upbringing dominated by a post World War II cautious conservative stance to life. Today I would consider myself then a cultural refugee. Like so many of my generation, I had rejected the status quo, the concerns for security through insurance and the hoarding of money and keeping of a steady employ, no matter how deadening to the spirit. Instead I had turned anti-establishment.

Still in 9th grade, I had demonstrated for the rights of Palestinians, the underdogs, and for one exiting evening we protested by forced occupation the planned conversion of an old charming theater  in to a new capitalist shopping center until the police forcefully upheld the rules of the bourgeoisie and made us abandon our sit-in. I still can remember that dark cavernous hall we occupied for a few precious hours, which since turned in to something comparable to a Walmart in the US.

A drop out, I had had the good fortune to meet not one, but several outstanding, creative, artistic mentors, that lit a fire in me, a desire to burn and sparkle with life. With an unwillingness to settle for less, I wanted it all. I was young, dumb and very naive and that is how I had put down my foot on American soil for the first time, 33 years ago.

I did not know much about the United States, did not know what to expect. Big boned, blue eyed, rosy cheeked Peter Smith from Whitewater, Wisconsin had lived with us in Zurich and  had taught us how to bake Tassajara whole wheat bread and how to make granola (I would be the one to supply us with the  needed raw, whole milk, brought home inside a traditional aluminum container.) I probably expected most Americans to be a variation of Peter's wholesome, generous, cheerful spirit.

33 years ago I had no interest in politics. Having had to endure gruesome images of the Vietnam war as regular fare on Swiss TV, I detested and ignored main stream media and culture.  I had not the slightest idea how the political and social climate in the US would change shortly after my arrival, certainly with the surprise election of President Ronald Reagan. 

6 years later, or 27 years ago in mid-September, done with New York, never ever wanting to go back, done with an impossible relationship, almost broke, we had made it in a red Toyota pick up truck in to  The City Different. 2 1/2 years later, married, a legal resident, I owned my first (and only) home. As a first (and only) generation immigrant, I was living The American Dream!

But hey, is this really my dream? Did I find what I came here for? Did I actually actualize myself?
Am I living the American Dream, 
or the American Nightmare?   
To be continued ...